How do you take an idea that has been "incubating" for half a decade and finally turn it into a finished screenplay?

Today, Cobain and Taylor discuss the writing process behind their upcoming short film, The Actress. This isn't just about writing; it's about taking control in an industry built on rejection. We discuss the psychological impact of accomplishing, why we rewrote our antagonist, and the "momentum magic" that helped us bridge the gap between a vague idea and a shooting script.

Topics Covered:

• From "Idea Lottery" to finished draft: The "Fog to Form" method.
• The plot of The Actress: A horror-thriller satire on Hollywood rejection.
• How we used accountability and rituals to break writer's block.
  

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Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: Taking control of our own story

00:56 – SEGMENT 1: Something That Sparked Something (Fog into Form)

02:55 – Logline: What is "The Actress"?

05:08 – The Spark: How Bob Fosse inspired us in 2019

08:03 – Separating identity from rejection

15:08 – Building Sophia: Creating a character you understand

20:51 – Brain Juice Coffee: Creating Ritual

22:21 – SEGMENT 2: Creative Insight (Momentum is Magic)

24:20 – The "Secret Weapon": Accountability partners

31:26 – Troubleshooting: Rewriting the ending & the villain

40:12 – SEGMENT 3: Creator Check-In (How do you know it's good?)

43:51 – What's Next: The Table Read & Casting Call

Taylor & Cobain discuss how creative pursuits lead to relationships- platonic & romantic. From VW Beetle renovations to dance partners, your creativity just may lead you to your mate.

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► Brain Juice Coffee: www.BrainJuiceCoffee.com

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ABOUT THE LIFE WE CREATE:

In a world that glorifies perfection, The Life We Create dives into the messy realities of building art, brand, and identity. Hosted by Taylor Joy Stevens and Cobain Rivers, this is the creative culture podcast from Brain Juice Creative. Get ready for unfiltered, reflective, and inspiring conversations about the real creative process. This is the podcast every creative needs.

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Cobain & Taylor talk about their perfectionist hangups when it comes to creativity (& life) and ways in which they overcome perfectionism to let creativity flow.

Mentions & Recommendations:
The Artist Way: https://amzn.to/3TJRCFK
Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning (audible link): https://amzn.to/3xm4Voh

Check out our new coffee!

► Brain Juice Coffee: www.BrainJuiceCoffee.com

Watch & Subscribe on Youtube

ABOUT THE LIFE WE CREATE:

In a world that glorifies perfection, The Life We Create dives into the messy realities of building art, brand, and identity. Hosted by Taylor Joy Stevens and Cobain Rivers, this is the creative culture podcast from Brain Juice Creative. Get ready for unfiltered, reflective, and inspiring conversations about the real creative process. This is the podcast every creative needs.

► Follow Brain Juice Creative:

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► Follow Taylor:

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► Follow Cobain:

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After a year-long hiatus, Taylor and Cobain are back to unpack the single most important lesson they learned: Take the messy action.

In this episode, they get real about why they stepped away, the creative's biggest enemy—perfectionism—and the lesson they learned about building in community instead of in silence. If you've ever felt stuck in the planning phase or waited until things were "perfect," this is the conversation you need to hear.

Plus, they share two massive announcements born from this new mindset: the launch of their new business, Brain Juice Coffee, and their new horror-comedy short film.

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro: The Power of Messy Action

00:52 - Why We Took a Year Off

02:08 - The Theme of the Year: "Take the Messy Action"

03:10 - The Big Lesson We Learned from Our Break

04:14 - "We Abandoned the Community to Build"

05:43 - The Trap of "High Production" Perfectionism

06:50 - The "Real Gs Move in Silence" Misconception

08:41 - Big Announcement: We Started a Coffee Company

09:50 - Why Coffee? Connecting Ritual with Creativity

10:14 - The Purpose: Coffee for Creatives (Without the Jitters)

13:17 - The Messy Launch: Losing Our Supplier

14:45 - Behind the Beans: Brain Juice Coffee Details

16:15 - The "Self-Made" Concept is a Myth

17:00 - The Next Messy Action: Writing a Short Film

17:48 - The Power of Community Encouragement

19:54 - Pre-Production and Redefining as a Filmmaker

21:28 - The Guillermo del Toro Philosophy: You Are What You Do

22:28 - The Entrepreneurial Journey (It's a "Nightmare")

23:25 - Once You Do It, You Get to Call Yourself "The Thing"

25:06 - The Future of the Podcast/ Outro

Check out our new coffee!

► Brain Juice Coffee: www.BrainJuiceCoffee.com

Watch & Subscribe on Youtube

ABOUT THE LIFE WE CREATE:

In a world that glorifies perfection, The Life We Create dives into the messy realities of building art, brand, and identity. Hosted by Taylor Joy Stevens and Cobain Rivers, this is the creative culture podcast from Brain Juice Creative. Get ready for unfiltered, reflective, and inspiring conversations about the real creative process. This is the podcast every creative needs.

► Follow Brain Juice Creative:

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► Follow Taylor:

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► Follow Cobain:

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Uncertainty fuels creativity in unexpected ways. In this episode of The Life We Create, Taylor and Cobain dive into the power of embracing the unknown and how unpredictability sparks innovation. From art and music to tech and filmmaking, we explore real-life examples of how creative breakthroughs happen when you let go of rigid plans and trust the process.

Highlights of this episode include:

• Cobain’s personal experience with uncertainty in music production.
• How improvisation and spontaneity play a key role in creative growth.
• Why uncertainty leads to innovation across industries.
• Debunking the myth that structure is the only path to creativity.

Whether you’re a filmmaker, musician, or entrepreneur, this episode is for anyone looking to embrace the unknown and transform it into their best work yet. Share your stories with us in the comments—how has uncertainty sparked your creativity?

Join the conversation:
We want to hear about your creative journey! What’s the biggest breakthrough you’ve had when you embraced uncertainty? Drop a comment below and share your experiences.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you never miss a new episode of The Life We Create! Let’s create something amazing, together.

Timecode:
00:00 - Intro

“Uncertainty isn’t just a part of creativity—it’s the lifeblood that fuels it.”

01:00 - The Benefits of Embracing Uncertainty

Exploring how uncertainty allows for organic creativity and unexpected discoveries.

09:23 - Uncertainty Breeds Innovation

How unpredictability leads to breakthroughs in art, technology, and beyond.

17:00 - Counterarguments

Balancing structure and uncertainty in the creative process.

19:55 - Outro

Embrace uncertainty and let it drive your creative projects.

Check out our new coffee!

► Brain Juice Coffee: www.BrainJuiceCoffee.com

Watch & Subscribe on Youtube

ABOUT THE LIFE WE CREATE:

In a world that glorifies perfection, The Life We Create dives into the messy realities of building art, brand, and identity. Hosted by Taylor Joy Stevens and Cobain Rivers, this is the creative culture podcast from Brain Juice Creative. Get ready for unfiltered, reflective, and inspiring conversations about the real creative process. This is the podcast every creative needs.

► Follow Brain Juice Creative:

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TikTok

► Follow Taylor:

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► Follow Cobain:

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Show up, show up, show up! Consistently. We continue our series inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic and in this episode we discuss Hard Labour vs. Fairy Dust. We debunk & demystify magic/luck happening serendipitously with the help of Elizabeth Gilbert and how consistently doing the work is what allows this magic to happen. It's a lesson in showing up to the work/craft/creativity for yourself & witness what happens as a result of it. Ultimately putting in the work is what gets results and that luck is where preparation & opportunity meet. Dive in with Taylor & Cobain in The Life We Create to implement this concept into your daily life and creative practice.

Where to start:
listen to Big Magic https://amzn.to/3xoh3Wl

Check out our new coffee!

► Brain Juice Coffee: www.BrainJuiceCoffee.com

Watch & Subscribe on Youtube

ABOUT THE LIFE WE CREATE:

In a world that glorifies perfection, The Life We Create dives into the messy realities of building art, brand, and identity. Hosted by Taylor Joy Stevens and Cobain Rivers, this is the creative culture podcast from Brain Juice Creative. Get ready for unfiltered, reflective, and inspiring conversations about the real creative process. This is the podcast every creative needs.

► Follow Brain Juice Creative:

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► Follow Taylor:

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► Follow Cobain:

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Taylor & Cobain are hyped to answer your comments & opinions regarding the previous episode- The Death of Hollywood: Why Creatives are Leaving LA. This engagement was sparked by the LA Times article about Hollywood's Exodus & why TV and Film workers are leaving Los Angeles. There was a lot of great dialogue & we dive deeper into some of the core issues across industries, focusing on entertainment inHollywood. There is hope for creatives (in LA and around the world) & everyone striving to live the life they desire.

Check out our new coffee!

► Brain Juice Coffee: www.BrainJuiceCoffee.com

Watch & Subscribe on Youtube

ABOUT THE LIFE WE CREATE:

In a world that glorifies perfection, The Life We Create dives into the messy realities of building art, brand, and identity. Hosted by Taylor Joy Stevens and Cobain Rivers, this is the creative culture podcast from Brain Juice Creative. Get ready for unfiltered, reflective, and inspiring conversations about the real creative process. This is the podcast every creative needs.

► Follow Brain Juice Creative:

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TikTok

► Follow Taylor:

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► Follow Cobain:

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Cobain & Taylor back it with entitlement...creative entitlement that is. We explore this topic that Elizebth Gilbert so elegantly explains in her book, Big Magic, and why you need to hone it. We love this notion & the empowerment it brings and we discuss exactly what creative entitlement is, why it's important, and how to implement it in your life. It's all about giving yourself permission, because you deserve to be creative, boo.

Where to start:

listen to Big Magic https://amzn.to/3xoh3Wl

dive into The Artist's Way https://amzn.to/3KR8jv1

Check out our new coffee!

► Brain Juice Coffee: www.BrainJuiceCoffee.com

Watch & Subscribe on Youtube

ABOUT THE LIFE WE CREATE:

In a world that glorifies perfection, The Life We Create dives into the messy realities of building art, brand, and identity. Hosted by Taylor Joy Stevens and Cobain Rivers, this is the creative culture podcast from Brain Juice Creative. Get ready for unfiltered, reflective, and inspiring conversations about the real creative process. This is the podcast every creative needs.

► Follow Brain Juice Creative:

Instagram

TikTok

► Follow Taylor:

Instagram

TikTok

► Follow Cobain:

X

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